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Project: Do You #16


#1 - Read one book per month. The Fault in our Stars (by John Green) was a FANTASTIC book! I highly recommend it as an easy summer read - one that will make you cry and laugh all on the same page. It also counted as my "October" book, so this goal will be crossed off as soon as I finish another two!

#2 - Work out on a regular basis. I've been active, though not as much as I should be. Not that it's an excuse, but our house hunt has been taking every extra ounce of energy I have. This week will be better - I hope. The Color Run is in less than two weeks and I need to spend more time running outside!

#11 - Make more time for crafting. You may have seen a few pictures if you follow me on Instagram (@YouAndMeAreWe), but there will be more pictures to come here as soon as the paint's dry! A $30 table from Craigslist has never looked better, let me tell you. There will be a few more crafts coming, along with a dresser and bookcase makeover. I've been enjoying my time getting crafty so I'm guessing this will be checked off the list pretty darn soon, as well.

How are your goals coming along?

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Hey there, stranger!

It has been far too long since I've sat down and blogged, much less typed up something worthy of hitting 'post' for you all to see. My mind has been elsewhere lately. I've hardly slept and my thoughts keep returning to the same things.

What on Earth could possibly be occupying my mind so frequently? Creeping in between every other thought that passes between my ears.

And it's time to come clean with you!

Trevor and I have been working on buying a house: applying for loans, crunching numbers, looking at listings, going to open houses, crunching numbers, meeting with our Realtor, spending countless hours looking at house after house, and crunching numbers. Oh, wait, did I mention we've been busy crunching numbers?!

We came thisclose to putting an offer on a perfect two story colonial home this past week. Everything was going along swimmingly until we invited our parents to see it and they noticed evidence of a wet basement. And some structural "enhancements" - if you could even call them that. Bottom line: we're still trying to get to the bottom of what's happening in that basement, but odds are that we're letting that house go. It's just not worth spending $20k to redo an entire basement!

And now I find myself dreaming of that home - the main floor and the upstairs moved somewhere else on a solid foundation, of course - and thinking of how I would paint, decorate, and arrange things. I am constantly dreaming of us owning our own home, making minor improvements, making the space our own. My heart is heavy.

Clearly, we are sick of renting. We hate that we are spending thousands of dollars on rent every year - and our landlord only comes around once a year if he's in the neighborhood. He doesn't care to take care of our needs but he makes sure to raise heck if he's looking for money, that's for sure! For the amount of money we are spending, we could be paying a mortgage and stashing away some pennies for home improvements. We're ready to move on to bigger and better things, that's for sure.

So where does this leave us? Still looking for a home to call our own, spending Sunday afternoons looking at open houses, and dreaming of the future. And still in our rental. Ugh.

I apologize for the lack of posts and for today's somber attitude. Honestly, there hasn't been much going on in our lives except spending the day working and the evenings looking at homes and gathering paperwork for our mortgage lender... and nobody wants to hear about that.

Don't worry - I won't leave you high and dry! Here's what's coming down the pipeline: a DIY furniture tutorial coming soon, the perfect summer scrub "recipe" to keep you legs silky smooth, a new blog design (!), and plenty of life updates. In the next month, I'll be running The Color Run, preparing for nursing school, and heading to Chicago with Whit.

Stay tuned!

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Allergic to Everything {and Why I Love 1-800 CONTACTS}

Most of the pictures you see on here don't involve glasses of any kind. Not because I don't need glasses {actually, I've had them since 4th grade} but because I wear contacts most of the time if I'm doing something other than working or hanging out around the house... and let's be honest, you're not interested in seeing pictures of me cleaning at home.

Needless to say, I wear contacts a lot! Sometime during college, it came to light that I have massive allergies. After months and months of allergic conjunctivitis {allergy-related pink eye} and therefore months and months of not wearing contacts, it was decided I would head to an allergist for testing. She did a scratch test and it only showed I was allergic to cockroaches and spruce trees. We knew there had to be more out there that was making me as miserable so I was sent home with a large patch containing common allergens taped to my back. Within a few days, I could feel blisters forming and my back was so itchy! At the end of the week I had blisters on top of blisters in a few key sections of my back: where the potassium dichromate was, and where the cobalt was.

So what did this mean for me? No more contact lens solution: I switched to daily disposable lenses. Lots of allergy eye drops and a daily Claritin. And it meant I was basically allergic to about half of my world. Make up? Allergic to most. Hair dye? Allergic to most. Printing inks? Allergic. Metal alloys and ceramics? Allergic. Paint primers, leather, and cement? Allergic, allergic, allergic.

Years later, I've managed my allergies well and have to come to realize that apart from avoiding what I'm allergic to {which is next to impossible, let me tell you!} one of the best ways for me to reduce reactions is surprisingly to continue the use of my daily contact lenses rather than switch back to monthlies.

So when the time came to order more contact this year, I had my eyes set on one brand: SofLens Daily Disposables. And wouldn't you know that my eye doctor's price was crazy out of this world? Even after employee discounts and vision insurance coverage, I'd still have to pay at least $100 out of pocket for a six month supply!

And that's when I started looking elsewhere for places to get my contacts from!

Disclaimer: the opinions in the rest of this post continue to be mine, and only mine. I have not been compensated for writing this post - I am just happily sharing my experience with my readers!

I came across 1-800 CONTACTS and quickly found my brand of contacts on their website... for much less than my doctor's office was selling them for! Plus, they had a rebate for an extra $30 off. I realized I was stupid not to buy my contacts this way!

It was simple to buy contacts through 1800CONTACTS.com - all I had to have on hand was have a copy of my latest contact prescription and my credit card! Easy peasy. I chose the power of each eye, how many boxes I wanted, and clicked them into my cart. From there, I finished checkout {but not before Googling a coupon code for an extra $10 off!} and found an email in my inbox telling me that they'd call my eye doctor to confirm the prescription I entered but I could speed up the process by texting them a picture of my paper copy instead. I snapped a pic message and sent it to the number they provided. Soon after, the contacts were on their way to my house!


Here's how it went down:
10:30 am, order placed, confirmation email received
10:51 am, text message was sent
12:00 pm, $30 rebate form was printed, filled out, and in my mailbox for pickup
12:30 pm, email received telling me my contacts were ready to ship

A few days later a small box arrived on my porch and my contacts were in perfect condition. They're exactly what I would have gotten from my eye doctor's office - except for the massive price difference. In fact, with all of the rebates and discounts from 1-800 CONTACTS, my vision insurance is reimbursing me for every single penny of the contacts! What was going to cost me at least $100 out of pocket ended up costing me nothing at all!



I tweeted and Instagrammed a picture about how great my experience with 1-800 CONTACTS was and within minutes had company representatives liking and commenting on my photo. So not only do they ship quickly but they have fantastic customer service and a great social media team!

If you are looking for a a quick and easy ordering process, even better product, and an overall positive experience you seriously need to check out 1-800 CONTACTS. For real. I'm not kidding. I'm not getting paid to say it. {Though, they're welcome to send me free contacts!}You just need to try it. FAN FREAKING TASTIC!

Have you ever ordered from 1-800 CONTACTS? What about another mail order contact place?

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Friday Letters

Dear Trevor, this week has been pretty great - we're being super stealthy and not sharing too many details, but I really hope this all pans out like we're hoping! Dear work, thanks for the extra hours and the extra money. And an even bigger thanks for having a fantastic air conditioning system during this past week of 100+ degree days. Dear Bonnie, your Twitter seminar last night was fabulous - thank you! Dear readers, if you want to learn how to conquer Twitter, you've gotta watch the webinar! Dear John Green, thanks for writing The Fault in Our Stars. Not only is it a great love story, it's the perfect length for a quick summer read!

Dear nursing school, things are starting to get real. I'm wrapping things up at work (my last day is two months from today!), I've been working on the two classes that need to be done before orientation, I've been slowing trudging through the emails and long to-do lists, and I've started getting things settled for a new study area in our house. Dear readers {again}, be on the lookout for a home tour post of said new study area. An entire room for $130?! I know you want to see it! And on the same note, thanks for your feedback about what color scheme I should use for the new design. Get pumped to see which one wins in the coming days! Dear Summer, you're going by way too quickly! Slow down a little, please! Dear weekend, please be kind to me. I'll be at the hospital for at least 12.5 hours both Saturday and Sunday... can you please make it bearable?

What are you doing this weekend? Heading on vacation? Sticking close to home? Do you have any fun projects planned?

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Blues and Greens

It's been a long time coming, but a new design is soon coming to YAMAW!

And that's where you come in! I've made a few (...ok, six...) color combination boards that I'm considering and I hope you'll vote for which one is your favorite! Leave a comment below letting me know which one you like the best and {fingers crossed} you'll get to see it live, in action, here on the blog.

Option 1: 


Option 2:


Option 3:


Option 4:


Option 5:


Option 6:

And while we're discussing redesigning and colors and all that jazz, you need to check out the inspiration board Veronica created for my kitchen! I asked for an airy room - something that would complement my all-white dinnerware - and she definitely delivered!

I mean, really, check out those accent colors! And the placemats?! I need them.


What do you think of the kitchen Veronica designed? And what about the next color scheme here at YAMAW? 
What's it going to be? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6?

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Project: Do You #15

Please note that this is a link up that focuses on individual self discovery goals. The goals you see below were set by me and for me only. If you choose to link up with us, please create your own goals to work toward and to update us on. If you are unfamiliar with Project: Do You, check out this post that introduces the project before proceeding.


I'm now officially halfway done with my Project: Do You list! A few goals that are left will be crossed off in the near future, and I have some ideas on how to complete a couple more. It feels so good to know I'm accomplishing things!

#2 - Work out on a regular basis. I've been cleared for regular activity for about a week now and I still haven't made it to the YMCA again. It's hard getting back in a workout groove! I haven't been completely lazy, though, because I've been riding my bike around as much as I can as a car replacement just because it's been nice out. The Color Run is coming up in 4 weeks so I NEED to get my butt in gear and start running more outside!

#5 - Plan a date night ahead of time for each month. I originally created this goal because I figured we'd need motivation to put our marriage first and to spend quality time together at least once a month. Turns out that we're really good about taking time for each other and we don't need to plan things ahead - they just happen! The other night, we went for an impromptu walk around the neighborhood just because. Then, we came home and shared an ice cream cone. A perfect ending to a day that would not have been as romantic had we planned it ahead of time. This goal is officially checked off!

#10 - Learn to say no more often. Nursing school has really helped me with this one! I'm finding myself saying 'no' to picking up shifts at work that won't benefit me {unless the person asking has done me a favor, in which case I'm all about paying them back!} and I'm learning how not to feel guilty about it. I need to do what's right for me and with so little time left at work, I really have no choice but to say no sometimes!

#18 - Go to the beach. We hung out at The Dunes when we were in Indiana and had a great time! It always amazes me how much Lake Michigan seems like the ocean at The Dunes... but it's no where near as nice on the Western shore here in Wisconsin!

How are your goals coming along?!



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Friday Letters


Dear Keith and Holly, we miss you, we miss your friendship, and we miss Valpo. Our next visit can't come soon enough! Dear Lake Michigan, you're pretty darn fantastic, you know that?! I'm pretty sure we could visit you every weekend during summer and we'd be happy as clams. Dear work, it feels so weird to know that I only have two months of you left. I sure am going to miss my coworkers... Dear Nursing School, you're coming up way too quickly! I've got the vaccines and health history under control, but can you maybe finish my calculations course and order my med term book for me please? I just want to enjoy my last summer as an under-employed lady! Dear family, Trevor and I are looking forward to seeing you all for Christmas in July this weekend! We don't have our white elephant gifts ready yet but you better believe we're going to rock it! Dear household cars, I don't appreciate both of you breaking within mere hours of each other yesterday. Not funny. So glad Trevor could quickly fix mine and too bad the door handle had to break on Trevor's - I don't want to be that girl who has to open car doors from the outside! Dear Future, you have a lot of fun, exciting, and scary things for us in store. Please be kind and gentle!


Happy Friday! What do you have planned for this weekend?!

Linking up with Ashley

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Have You Met Paulina?

Have you met Paulina (and Palmer)?

She blogs at Discovering Simply Me - and let me tell you that she covers everything under the sun! You want to see fashion posts? She's got 'em. You're looking for blogging tips and HTML assistance? Yep, got those too. Are you trying to get rid of your armpit fat? This girl has got you covered! Need some tips for online dating? Those are here, too! Paulina's been through some rough patches in the past {just like the rest of us!} and is working to build herself a better future. She doesn't cover up anything - she's upfront and honest, just like your real life friends!

Plus, she's got a cutie named Palmer - her therapy dog - who you'll occasionally see photobombing her fashion posts. Can't go wrong with cute pets! And you'll also find book reviews. I'm always looking for a few good books to add to my collection, so these are some of my favorite posts of hers!

You're missing out if you don't head over to Discovering Simply Me! If that's not your style, then make sure you're following Paulina on Twitter @Paulina_Smiles_!

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Love List

After a long holiday weekend spent on vacation in Indiana followed by two LONG days at work {seriously, so many patients, so little time!} I finally have a day off to get stuff checked off my to-do list.

Maybe it's the looming tasks or the fact that I should be at the gym right now but instead I am sitting on my butt being lazy, but either way my blogging inspiration is nowhere to be found. With that said, I still want to be in the groove of posting often enough and I still want you to find new content when you visit You and Me are We so today's post is going to be lighthearted.

Here's my current Love List - what I'm crushing on, what I'm looking forward to, etc.


1) Next month, Whit and I are spending some time in Chicago. We're staying at The James and I can't wait! We'll explore the city and meet up with our mutual friend Maya!

2) Essie's Bachelorette Bash may have a permanent home on my toes - it's the perfect bright and cheery summer color!

3) It's officially raspberry season! Tomorrow, I'm heading to the same place I picked strawberries and I'm loading up on one of my favorite fruits.

4) This dress from LOFT is one of the most comfortable dresses I've ever owned. Plus, it's pretty darn lovely looking. Win!

5) BareMinerals to-go brush is making summer travel so much easier!

6) I submitted my resignation for my position at work in the Emergency Room because I can't keep it during school. I'm only freaking out a little inside because school is SO CLOSE! But don't worry - I'm not completely unemployed, I was working in the ER only as needed, I'm still working on the floor until the very possible last day I can before school.

7) Recently, I've become re-obsessed with this scent from Bath & Body Works - eucalyptus spearmint. I have multiple eucalyptus spearmint candles in our bedroom, a eucalyptus spearmint car freshener, eucalyptus spearmint oil for the oil warmer, eucalyptus spearmint lotion, and the list goes on and on. It really does help me relax and unwind, plus it just smells so fantastic!

8) Last weekend, Trevor and I visited the same friends as last year around this same time. It's so refreshing to have friends who are a perfect match for us as a couple. We don't have any couple friends near home, so it's a treat when we get to see these two.

What have you been loving lately? I'm always looking for fantastic new things to try!

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Summer Bucket List Checkup

It's been about a month and a half since I shared our summer bucket list with you so to help keep me accountable, I wanted to update you on our progress.

Our list now looks like this:
-- Visit Kelley Country Creamery in FDL (look how many ice cream flavors they offer here!!!)

-- Madison Farmer's Market (link)

-- Drive in movie

-- Paint guest room dresser

-- Redo guest room bookcase

-- Door County wine tour (link)

-- Take a motorcycle ride to Lake Michigan

-- Visit Trempealeau, WI (link)

-- Enjoy a concert in the park (offered once a week in our city)

-- Put down the technology and spend time together: talking walks, bike rides, cuddling on the couch, eating dinner, etc.

On a particularly nice day a few weeks back, Trevor and I spent an afternoon at the lake reading books and enjoying each other's company. When the sun was getting to be too much we decided we would try to find Kelley Country Creamery... and it was a bit of a drive, but totally worth it! We will gladly go back again to try more flavors of their ice cream because we were so impressed with the selection our first time around. It's not close enough for us to go for a quick stop after dinner - our drive was at least an hour - but it's on our yummy ice cream radar now!


A couple of weekends ago we took a road trip to Trempealeau, WI where my dad lives. It was a nice weekend, complete with a bike ride to the Mississippi in hopes of watching a barge go through the lock. No such luck for us, though we did get to see a few small boats lock through.

It's never easy having a parent be so far away. My dad is happy where he's living now and Trevor and I certainly aren't going to move away from the rest of my family and all of his just to join my dad on the other side of the state, but there's always wishful thinking that someday we'll be in the same county again - and NOT a four hour drive away.

How is your summer bucket list coming along? What have you accomplished so far?

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Catching Up and a Group Giveaway on Bailey Dailies

Hey there! How was your Fourth of July?

Trevor and I spent the day with family, enjoying the sun and each other's company. I do have to admit, though, that a summer holiday just isn't the same when you have to chew everything with your front teeth. Darn you, wisdom teeth surgery! I am a lover of grilled corn on the cob, brats, and summer salads and I wasn't able to partake like usual. As soon as my mouth heals, I'm going to go grill crazy!

As promised, here's the second giveaway that I'm part of this week.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here's to hoping you win. Good luck!

Happy Friday, friend!

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July Fourth

I know my readers don't all hail from the US, but to those who do:


I'm taking the day off blogging and spending it with my loved ones. I'll be back tomorrow with a giveaway so come on back then!
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Wedding Wednesday #5

This is it - the last day of wedding details from our big day over two years ago. And it's about time you get to read this, right?

You probably want to be caught up with my Wedding Wednesday posts before moving on, so here's the breakdown: read about our ceremony in the first edition of Wedding Wednesday, be overwhelmed with beautiful photos of our reception in the second edition, read all about the attire we chose in the third, and stare at photo after photo of the details on our wedding day in the fourth.

As promised, today I'm sharing my wedding dos and don'ts. From attire, to guests, to ceremony, to honeymoon - it's all below!

First, let's start with what I'd change:
- I'd find bridesmaid dresses somewhere other than David's Bridal. There are so many cute, wedding-perfect dresses out there in stores that aren't pegged as wedding stores. In fact, right now there's a dress at LOFT that I LOVE {yes, I own it} and would have been absolutely perfect for a bridesmaid dress. The fact that you can buy it on sale for $25 is just a huge, red cherry on top. I would have saved my girls money and they would have had a classy dress to wear again and again.
- Similarly, I'd have the guys buy suits rather than rent from Men's Warehouse. We chose some of the more expensive suits to rent and they could have gotten their own suits to OWN for about the same price. Plus, we could have gifted them the ties or shirts as part of their gifts to save even more money. Brides, do not think you have to rent suits or tuxes!
- Take a longer honeymoon. Need I say more?
- Buy a different dress!
- I would have hired a different wedding planner. The one we used was pretty darn unprofessional the day of our wedding and didn't follow through on what she said she'd do. Too bad, too, because I've warned so many of my recently-engaged family and friends to steer clear of her company!


Here's what I'd still do the same if we did it all over again:
- Get married at 11:30am. I loved the flow of the day and it allowed us to spend so much time with family. After the reception wrapped up, Trevor and I headed to our hotel, changed, ate a few bites of food, and headed back to my parent's house for a bonfire with our closest family and friends. It was the perfect way to wind down after the day's excitement.
- Spend a lot of money on a photographer. Enough said.
- Spend a lot of money on food.
- Not serve alcohol. Our guests didn't complain and it wasn't exactly expected for a garden lunch reception.
- Invite the same number of guests. We were so glad to be surrounded by our very close family and friends. They all played a part in our relationship and we genuinely wanted them there. Plus, we had time to talk to EVERYONE, to thank them for coming, and to enjoy their presence. It's my opinion that as the hosts of the party, you need to do this and when you have eleventy million guests, that just doesn't happen and it's rude.
- A first look.

Do you have any wedding regrets?

Photo courtesy of Laurie Marie Photography.

Group Giveaway on Hey, Hollywood

It's your lucky week! Two of the ladies I sponsored in June have put together giveaways and I figured I'd share them both here so you'd have a chance to win some goodies.

Holly from Hey, Hollywood's giveaway goes through the end of this week so get your entries in while you can!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck - and be on the lookout for another giveaway later this week!

What I've Learned About Wisdom Teeth Removal

I've gotten a few emails asking me for advice regarding wisdom teeth removal since I had mine done last week. I, too, was freaked out and scared about getting four teeth pulled and I was looking for advice beforehand. Why not post about it and start a discussion?!


Here's the scoop: my teeth weren't really hurting me, however, I knew I needed them out before nursing school starts in September so I pulled the trigger in June. 

1) Go to an oral surgeon. Screw the dentist. Make sure you really like the guy/lady because they're going to be working on your mouth and all up in your business.
2) Eat as many crunchy things as you can the day before surgery. I am craving pretzels like none other... and it's still going to be awhile before I can have them.
3) Eat as late as you can the night before surgery. I couldn't eat past midnight but my surgery wasn't until 1pm the next day. I was in pain because I was so hungry {I hadn't eaten since an early dinner around 7pm the night before}.
4) Clean your house, do laundry, etc before your surgery because you won't want to afterwards!
5) Fill your prescriptions ahead of time and make sure you have enough soft foods to last a few days. I went grocery shopping a couple days earlier and loaded up on pudding, pasta, Naked smoothies without seeds, Gatorade, chocolate milk, ice cream, bananas, etc. I also recommend buying the Nestle Complete Breakfast drink packets. My body needed something besides sugary foods and the breakfast drink gave me more vitamins and protein.

6) Make sure you have more than enough ice on hand. You will want to ice your face for the first 36 hours {15 minutes on, 15 minutes off} and will be using more ice than you thought possible.
7) When they ask what kind of anesthesia you want, tell them you want it all. I had a little bit of laughing gas after I got in the chair which calmed me down enough not to care what they were doing. Then they gave me a nice mix of Versed, Propofol, and Ketamine through my IV that knocked me out within 30 seconds of the first IV push. Seriously, I remember nothing after the second dose until I woke up in the recovery area... and I like it that way. I don't want to hear noises or experience pressure! I just want to sleep!
8) Don't give yourself access to your phone for the first few hours after surgery... because you end up taking photos like the one above.
9) Take the pain meds they give you if needed. I had Lortab Elixir {think: liquid Vicodin} and never even needed to use it. Instead, I took 800mg of ibuprofen every 8 hours and managed just fine.
10) Unless you're super crazy nauseated or you know it works on you, DON'T ask for the motion sickness patch {scopolamine}. I had more side effects from the damn patch that was on for 30 hours than I did from the actual surgery. I was dizzy and couldn't see close up for FIVE DAYS. I had to lay around my house so I wasn't nauseated. Come to find out, they're both known side effects from the patch. If I would have known that, I wouldn't have asked for something! It's almost a week later and I am still not back to my normal self.

11) It's going to be weird swallowing for the first couple of hours. For me, it kind of felt like I had a lump in my throat. Try to swallow like normal and it'll go away soon enough.
12) Drink lots of fluids! And pass on using a straw to reduce your chance of dry socket.
13) Don't push it. I thought I would be OK to go grocery shopping and make a trip to Target with Trevor four days afterwards and I was wrong. I was tired just walking through the parking lot! Lay low, watch a bunch of crappy movies, and take naps.

If you've had your wisdom teeth out already, I'd love for you to comment below with any other tips you may have so others can be enlightened.
If you still need yours out, leave any questions and comments below and I'll do my best to help answer them.

Project: Do You #14

Please note that this is a link up that focuses on individual self discovery goals. The goals you see below were set by me and for me only. If you choose to link up with us, please create your own goals to work toward and to update us on. If you are unfamiliar with Project: Do You, check out this post that introduces the project before proceeding.

#1 - Read one book per month. I finished another book last week, which was my September book. Only three books left to cross this off my Project list!

#2 - Work out on a regular basis. I haven't been able to workout in a week because of my oral surgery. I have been staying as active as I can manage, but it's no substitute for the YMCA! I've had some complications from the surgery so who knows how long it will be before I'm cleared for strenuous activity again.

#6 - Enjoy a weekend away with Trevor. We spent last weekend on the Mississippi River at my dad's house and next weekend we'll be visiting friends. I can definitely say we've spend weekends away, though none just the two of us.

#12 - Get out of my comfort zone more often. My wisdom teeth experience falls under this if nothing else! Sparing the details, it's been pretty weird for me to be the patient and not the nurse.

#13 - Share our wedding on the blog. Except for the last post hiccup, this is done and checked off. And I'm so glad about it, too! Our wedding day was special and beautiful and amazing and we'll never forget it. To share it with you was fun, and I'm glad so many of you also had dress dilemmas )

I am so happy to be seeing things getting crossed off my list! How are your goals coming along?

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